> Depression is deceptively common

I didn't even know I had it, but when I was diagnosed, my psychiatrist was very concerned and made a point of encouraging me to keep in touch, making sure I worked through things and engaged with the problem. I initially thought something like "I'm fine, just a little down here and there, I wonder if this person is inventing work for themselves?"

Same with anxiety. I would have told you something like "I'm not an anxious person at all. I don't even know what that's like, though I can sympathize with people who suffer with it". As it turned out, I was suffering pretty severe anxiety. In retrospect it's as clear as day, but at the time it was just... The way life was.

The thing is, all of my assessments remarked that I demonstrated relatively high self awareness and openness. My experience being diagnosed with ADHD and depression made me seriously concerned for people who 1) can't afford this process and support, and 2) will just continue to grind like I was, living half-dead without knowing it can be any other way.

I suspect there are a ton of these people—I think I notice them quite often—and I was arguably accidentally pulled from that stupor and would likely still be there, unaware, if it weren't for a chance encounter that caused me to think slightly differently about the possibility of having ADHD.